Saturday, October 02, 2004
Appointment in Samarra
The "International Herald Tribune" describes the brigade plus attack on Samarra by US and Iraqi government forces. The objective of the operation was to establish government control after the city council had been disbanded under insurgent threat. Samarra is a city of 200,000 on the Tigris river about 120 kilometers north-northwest of Baghdad. It was the capital of the Abbasid caliphate in the 9th century, when palaces and gardens stretched for 30 kilometers along the river. That history is recalled in numerous archaeological relics whose massive construction make it a potential offensive nightmare. The Great Friday Mosque with its spiral minaret, for example, covers nearly 40,000 square meters -- four hectares, or about 9 acres -- with walls 35 feet high and walls nearly 9 feet thick. It is also the site of a replica of the the Imam Ali Mosque of Najaf, holy to Shi'ites, excepting that it is domed in blue tiles, but with the potential, like its southern counterpart, to become a massive redoubt.

The International Herald Tribune reports that an overnight assault by four American and two Iraqi battalions (for reference note that a division has about 10 battalions) took 80% of the city, killing 100 insurgents outright, and capturing the Shi'ite mosque, the city hall and a pharmaceutical factory site. The assault on the mosque itself was carried out by the Iraqi army in its first major public debut.

In a later statement, the military said that members of 36th Iraqi Commando Battalion had secured the historic Golden Mosque, a sacred Shiite shrine, to safeguard it from insurgents. They also captured 25 rebels at the mosque with weapons, the military said.

Details added by the Daily Telegraph suggests the force had specific objectives when they began the operation. "An Iraqi spokesman said 37 insurgents were captured. During the push, soldiers of the US 1st Infantry Division rescued Yahlin Kaya, a Turkish building worker being held hostage in the city." Remaining resistance appears to be centered on the old city.

American and Iraqi troops backed by tanks and armored vehicles pushed through Samarra's old city as insurgents unleashed mortar attacks and rocket-propelled grenades from the rooftops. ... Apache attack helicopters circled the area, firing rockets at rooftops where insurgents hid as soldiers fought street by street. Several buildings were destroyed. One resident said 10 per cent of the houses in the old city had been destroyed.

One of the most remarkable aspects of the operation was that such a huge force of Americans and Iraqis achieved tactical surprise. "When the 3,500 US troops and Iraqi forces launched the attack they appeared to catch the insurgents by surprise." Reports suggest the insurgents were caught flat-footed.

Guerrillas were seen unloading weapons and ammunition from two speedboats on the Tigris in the town, the military said. Troops opened fire and destroyed the boats. The US military said troops destroyed several mortar sites, rocket-propelled grenade teams and guerrilla vehicles as they closed in on the mosque in the city center.

The fact that the First Infantry Division and the Iraqi Army were able to keep the approach of multi-battalion forces secret from the enemy in the heart of the Sunni triangle is one of the most impressive aspects of this operation. The insurgents were surprised in a stronghold where they could expect to enjoy every intelligence advantage. Nearly as impressive was the lightning seizure of the Shi'ite shrine by the 36th Iraqi Commando battalion. If this feat were achieved in Najaf two month's earlier it would have been the equivalent of Allawi capturing Moqtada al-Sadr and his high command in their underpants. In fact, the entire multinational operation implies a degree of coordination, command and control that speaks volumes about the degree of improvement of the Iraqi Army.

But many difficulties still remain. The "Telegraph" points out the obvious one. Will the victory last?

"Less than three weeks ago the US military entered the troubled city to reinstate its city council, which had disbanded earlier under terrorist threat. Although this was hailed as a great success at the time, insurgents quickly returned and cowed local forces when US forces left."

In that respect the earlier American operation in Samarra resembled any Israeli Defense Force incursion into Gaza or the West Bank -- overwhelming but temporary. In fact, any all-American incursion into Falluja would probably have shared the same temporary character. But the American commitment to building a new Iraqi Army and Iraqi State is the bearing strategic fruit which provides the crucial difference. Imagine if the Israeli Defense Forces and a Palestinian Government Force could jointly seize a terrorist stronghold and then garrison it with a Palestinian Force. What if they could seize and hold? This is what American and Iraqi forces are achieving in Samarra; this is what can be done in October that could not be achieved in April, 2004. The view that Iraq is descending into a quagmire represents a valid concern, but it ignores three crucial achievements by US policymakers.

The piecemeal defeat of the threatened Sunni-Shi'ite uprising in April by holding the Sunnis fixed while militarily and politically defeating Moqtada Al-Sadr;
Rebuilding the Iraqi Army from a near-zero condition in April; and
Establishing an interim Iraqi government.
Both Saddam and Sadr believed they could outmaneuver the Americans, who were, if the press is to be believed, singularly lacking in nuance and intelligence. Doubtless Zarqawi believes he can do the same. Long may he cherish that hope.

US, Iraqi forces tighten grip on Samarra
US and Iraqi forces have declared victory in Samarra where they battled hundreds of guerrillas over the weekend.

Samarra is situated around 100 kilometres north of Baghdad.

Around 3,000 US troops, backed by a 2,000-strong Iraqi force and supported by fighter jets and artillery, stormed Samarra on Friday, determined to rid the city of an estimated 1,000 insurgents.

"This has been a successful operation...We're very confident that the future of Samarra is good," Major General John Batiste, the commander of the US 1st Infantry Division which led the assault on Samarra, told CNN.

About 70 per cent of the city is under US-Iraq control, but operations are still going on, a spokesman for the US 1st Infantry Division said.

In 36 hours of fighting, the US military says it killed 125 guerrillas and seized 88.

Residents say many bodies were left lying in the roads, hospital workers too overburdened or fearful to collect them.

The US military has estimated that about 1,000 guerrillas were hiding out in Samarra, but after the 36 hour onslaught it was not clear what happened to most of those fighters.

Fallujah

The US military has vowed to take back all rebel strongholds before the end of the year, so that elections can be held in Iraq in January.

The offensive on Samarra would appear to be the first step in that objective, but tougher battles may lie ahead.

Two larger and more rebellious cities west of Baghdad, Fallujah and Ramadi, will also have to be wrestled back from insurgent hands.

There are also areas of the capital, including the Shiite slum of Sadr City, that would need to be retaken.

US warplanes bombed Fallujah, 50 kilometres west of Baghdad, for the second consecutive night on Sunday - the latest in a long campaign of strikes targeted at Jordanian militant Abu Musab al-Zarqawi and his followers.

In a statement, the US military described the raid as "another precision strike" - this time against a building where 10 to 15 "anti-Iraqi forces" were moving weapons.

"Anti-Iraqi forces" is a term used to describe guerrillas by the US military.

"Forty-five minutes of secondary explosions indicated the building was being used as a huge weapons/ammunition cache. A large number of enemy fighters are presumed killed," the US military said.

A hospital official said the attack killed two people and wounded 10.

Many Fallujah residents accuse the United States of bombing indiscriminately and say many of those killed in the air strikes are civilians, not insurgents or foreign fighters.

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